because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine, to fight with him; for thou art but a youth and he a man of war from his youth.

And David said unto Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living GOD.

David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philis. tine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head, and he also armed him with a coat of mail.

And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these: for I have not proved them And David put them off him.

And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand and he drew near to the Philistine.

And the Philistine came on and drew near unto Dá: vid; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw Da

vid, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? and the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

Then said David to the Philistine, thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee: and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a GoD in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.

And it came to pass when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to nieet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead: and he fell upon his face to the earth.... '

So David prevailed over the Philistine, with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath, thereof, and slew him and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw, their champion was dead, they fled."

And

And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gate of Ekron. And the wounded o. the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.

[And the children of Israel returned from chasing the -Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.

- And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his

tent.

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

And the king said, Enquire thou whose son this Stripling is.

And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Beth-lehemite..

And it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.

...Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because - he loved him as his own soul.

sir And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, Land behaved himself wisely and Saul set him over the

men

men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

It is very probable that the Philistines might have heard of the threatenings which Samuel had denounced against Saul, and that he was afflicted with an uncommon distemper, which rendered him unfit to manage a war; these circumstances encouraged them to suppose that the Israelites would be intimidated by their mighty champion Goliath, whose appearance was indeed sufficient to strike terror into those who could pot with confidence depend on the assistance of the LORD for he was near thirteen feet high, his coat of mail weighed above 189 pounds, and the weight of his spear's head was upwards of 22 pounds, so that the whole of his armour must have been exceedingly heavy. No one amongst the armies of Israel had courage to accept his challenge, not even Saul, or Jonathan his son, Saul had lost his courage by the LORD's rejecting him ; and Jonathan, not feeling himself animated as on a former occasion, would not venture such a mighty stake as the freedom of Israel, trusting merely to his own personal ability: we may likewise imagine, that DiVINE PROVIDENCE had ordered all events to conspire together, that the victory should be gained by the hand of David.

How commendable was the conduct of this amiable young man! With what zeal for the honour of God did he wish to remove the disgrace that Israel lay under! with what exemplary modesty did he offer his services to Saul! with what faith and confidence in God did he face his antagonist! Let us imagine ourselves spectators of the scene: behold, a mighty GIANT, completely armed, marching with haughty strides, and

breathing

breathing defiance to a whole army, who fly from before him a blooming YOUTH, in a humble shepherd's garb, with no other weapons but a sling and a few pebbles, boldly accepts his challenge; who would imagine it was possible for him to subdue such a formidable foe? yet this did David effect! but let us remember that he went against the champion of an idolatrous nation, in the name of the LORD OF HOSTS, the GOD of the armies of Israel, and full of faith and confidence that GOD would enable him to overcome his enemy, and we shall no longer wonder at the success of his enterprize.

From Eliab's treatment of his brother, we may understand that he was of a very ill-natured disposition, notwithstanding his outward appearance was so engaging.

It may seem strange that Saul should not know David, as he had formerly attended him in the character of a musician: the text does not say that Saul did not recollect his person, only that he was ignorant of his family and descent, which he might now wish to be particularly informed of, as he had engaged to marry his daughter to the man who should deliver Israel from the threats of the Philistines. David was at that time about 22 years old, yet he might properly be called a youth and a stripling, when compared with a giant.

Jonathan's behaviour to David shews that he had a liberal mind; for instead of being envious of his fame, he regarded him with admiration and gratitude being firmly convinced that David was particularly favoured by the LORD, he concluded that he was deserving of his esteem, and resolved, from that day, to cultivate his friendship; therefore, he took the earliest opportu nity of expressing his sentiments; and that David might appear like a king's son, Jonathan gave him his

own